Northern Trust to Use ICE ETF Hub in Expansion of U.S. ETF Servicing Platform

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Northern Trust Corporation has entered into an agreement with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to incorporate the ICE ETF Hub into its developing U.S. exchange-traded fund (ETF) servicing offering aimed at institutional investors.

Under the arrangement, ICE ETF Hub will serve as the order-taking platform for Northern Trust's ETF servicing operations. The integration forms part of the firm's broader strategy to establish a presence in the U.S. institutional ETF servicing market.

ICE ETF Hub is designed to support primary market ETF workflows and connect market participants such as authorized participants, market makers, distributors, and service providers. The platform will be integrated with Northern Trust's proprietary automated ETF servicing system.

The move comes as institutional interest in ETFs continues to grow, supported by strong investment inflows and product innovation across both passive and actively managed strategies. Northern Trust said it is building the operational and technological infrastructure required to support ETF issuers and institutional clients in the United States.

Phil Nanof, Head of ETF Services for the Americas at Northern Trust, said the integration is a key part of the firm's broader ETF servicing plans. "Integrating ICE ETF Hub is a key component of our overall U.S. ETF servicing strategy," Nanof said, noting that the platform provides connectivity with major market participants and supports key ETF workflows.

He added that the collaboration represents a step toward deploying a fully automated ETF servicing model that covers fund administration, custody, and transfer agency services.

Peter Borstelmann, President of ICE Bonds, said the ICE ETF Hub was designed to standardize and automate ETF creation and redemption processes. "The ICE ETF Hub… was designed to standardize and automate the ETF creation and redemption process to provide workflow efficiencies and connectivity that ETF issuers and service providers can rely on," he said.

Northern Trust's Global Fund Services division provides asset servicing solutions that include fund administration, global custody, investment operations outsourcing, and data services. The firm supports investment managers and institutions across a range of asset classes and strategies.

The agreement represents a step in Northern Trust's efforts to expand its ETF-related services as institutional adoption of the investment vehicle continues to increase.